Drunk rape victims 'are to blame'

ONS data revealed one in 12 people believe sex attack victims are to blame if they are drunk, on drugs or flirtatious with the offender

Around one in 12 people believe sexual assault and rape victims are to blame if they are either drunk, under the influence of drugs or flirtatious with the offender.

Some 8% of people think victims are responsible when they are under the influence of drugs, while around 6% believe victims are to blame when they are drunk.

And 7% think victims are responsible when they are attacked by someone they have been flirting heavily with beforehand, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said.

The figures were included within a breakdown of violent and sexual crime in England and Wales, which shows violent incidents have halved since 1995 to 2.1 million incidents in 2011/12.

While the level of violent incidents has fallen since 1995, the ONS noted "no statistically significant change" in the level of sexual assault and domestic abuse since 2008/09.

The ONS said 1.2 million women and 800,000 men suffered domestic abuse in England and Wales in the last year, equal to 7% of women and 5% of men.

Females aged 16-19 or 20-24 were more likely to be victims of domestic abuse, stalking and sexual assault, the survey said.

Elsewhere, the ONS said women who were separated had the highest risk of domestic abuse in the last year - one in five - compared with other groups by marital status.

The pattern was slightly different for sexual assault, the ONS said, with single women and separated women being more likely to be a victim than those who were married.

Women and men with a long-term illness or disability were more likely to be victims of domestic abuse in the last year when compared with those without. Women with a degree or diploma were less likely than women with no qualifications or other qualifications to be a victim of domestic abuse in the last year.